Attorney: Crosses at Catholic University violate human rights of Muslim students

The Washington, D.C. Office of Human Rights is investigating the Catholic University of America.

The Tower, a student newspaper at the university, says the charges allege the school does not provide Muslim students with places to hold frequent prayer services free of crosses or other Catholic symbols.

John F. Banzhaf III, a George Washington University Professor of Public Interest Law, made the complaint to the human rights agency. In a news release Banzhaf alleges: "It is alleged that CUA does not provide space -- as other universities do -- for the many daily prayers Muslim students must make, forcing them instead to find temporarily empty classrooms where they are often surrounded by Catholic symbols which are incongruous to their religion."

The university says it hasn't seen any legal filings on the matter, but sent a written statement to Fox News.

“Our faithfulness to our Catholic tradition has also made us a welcome home to students of other religions,” said Victor Nakas, associate vice president for public affairs. “No students have registered complaints about the exercise of their religions on our campus.”

Banzhaf also complained that CUA does not sponsor a Muslim student association. But the Tower reports an Arab American Student Association recently formed on campus. The founder, Wiaam Al Salmi, told the Tower, “The community here is very respectful of other religions and I feel free to openly practice it.”

Patrick Reilly, the president of the Cardinal Newman Society, an organization that promotes Catholic identity on college campuses, told Fox News he was stunned by the complaint.

“This attorney is really turning civil rights on its head,” he said. “He’s using the law for his own discrimination against the Catholic institution and essentially saying Catholic University cannot operate according to Catholic principles.”